Blue: The History of a Color.

Rating:
Summary: Junk
Review: Only a Frenchman could have written this. Gorgeously illustrated, divertingly precious, breath-takingly arrogant, and close to useless. Pastoureau speculates, tells us how shamefully others have speculated, and then speculates some more. His arrogance, Francophilia, and contempt for people whose previous work does not meet his standards (and lord knows what they are) all work to ruin what could have been an exiciting book. He has a point to make, and darned if chronology, sense, or vision will keep him from doing so. A true history of the color awaits. Hopefully it will come in as pretty a package.

Rating:
Summary: A great readable scholarly book with pictures !
Review: Thoroughly researched and compellingly interesting, the story of how the West's modern times favorite color emerged from the middle ages. Lively, vivid, a great & beautiful book.
YGG

Rating:
Summary: A great readable scholarly book with pictures !
Review: Thoroughly researched and compellingly interesting, the story of how the West's modern times favorite color emerged from the middle ages. Lively, vivid, a great & beautiful book.
YGG

Rating:
Summary: Peacock
Review: Woad, Indigo, Azurite, Lapis, Copper Silicate, Blue Vitriol are some of the sources of the color blue. BLUE, THE HISTORY OF A COLOR, by Michel Pastoureau, is a beautiful art history book, whose organizing principle is the color--blue. Pastoureau's book is a bit "Francocentered" but nevertheless, who better to reflect on blue than a Frenchman. BLUE is both informative and entertaining and a must for any serious art book collector. The photgraphy of various works of art--including selected stained glass windows from the early church--is stunning. The book is loaded with illustrations showing pages from psalters, cathedral windows, figurines, and other art.

For millions of years, the major colors for artistic expression were Black-White-Red. Ancient tales such as "Little Red Riding Hood", "Snow White", and "The Fox and the Crow" reflect this primary triad. The Romans considered blue an inferior color, especially since the Celts up North had discovered the leaves from the Woad plant could be made into a beautiful blue "pastel" suitable for body painting. The liturgal colors of the Catholic Church date from Roman times and are red-white-black (green was added later). However, at some point between the time the Romans lost Europe and the Catholic Church reentered recorded history, blue became associated with Mary the mother of Christ. When Abbe Suger built St. Denis, blue began to rival red for supremacy within the church, although blue never became a vestment color. When St. Louis built his Chapel and the Capet family became the rulers of France with Mary as their patron, the fleur de lis on a blue background became the family standard and the flag of France (fleur de lis = lily of Mary, although it may be a blue flag or iris).

No sooner had blue become THE color of colors, than the Protestants (Pastoureau calls them "Chromoclasts") demanded everything be turned black to reflect sin and penance. After they smashed a few thousand church windows, these reformers, who have been linked to capitalism, turned everything else black -- from telephones to automobiles. As Henry Ford once said, the customer can have any color he wants as long as it's black. Black went on to became the dress of high society--from stove pipe hats to tuxedoes to the little black dress.

During the Reformation, red and white had been dismissed by the Protestants but the shot heard round the world gave them a second chance as the new red-white-blue and blue-white-red flags led to military pants and coats in similar colors. But red and white were a dismal failure as they made targets of their wearers. Blue blends into the horizon so it has lasted longer as a battle garment. Although jungle fatigues and black commando suits are more often than not seen on modern battlefields, mess dress is still blue-white-red for many, and UN soldiers wear fleur-de-lis blue helmets. Blue eventually replaced black on the social front as descendents of the "Puritans" gave up black frocks for navy blue blazers and jeans.

Pastoureau covers iconography, iconology, symbolism, sociology, ethnology, the economic aspects of weaving, dyeing, and manufacture, and a host of other topics associated with the color blue. The book is incredibly rich in detail but far too short, and in the end it raises more questions than it addresses. Pastoureau points to many historical sources that have yet to be translated or fully examined, and art history majors looking for a thesis subject would be well advised to check out this book.

Rating:
Summary: From sacred blue to blue jeans....
Review: Woad, Indigo, Azurite, Lapis, Copper Silicate, Blue Vitriol are some of the sources of the color blue. BLUE, THE HISTORY OF A COLOR, by Michel Pastoureau, is a beautiful art history book, whose organizing principle is the color--blue. Pastoureau's book is a bit "Francocentered" but nevertheless, who better to reflect on blue than a Frenchman. BLUE is both informative and entertaining and a must for any serious art book collector. The photgraphy of various works of art--including selected stained glass windows from the early church--is stunning. The book is loaded with illustrations showing pages from psalters, cathedral windows, figurines, and other art.

For millions of years, the major colors for artistic expression were Black-White-Red. Ancient tales such as "Little Red Riding Hood", "Snow White", and "The Fox and the Crow" reflect this primary triad. The Romans considered blue an inferior color, especially since the Celts up North had discovered the leaves from the Woad plant could be made into a beautiful blue "pastel" suitable for body painting. The liturgal colors of the Catholic Church date from Roman times and are red-white-black (green was added later). However, at some point between the time the Romans lost Europe and the Catholic Church reentered recorded history, blue became associated with Mary the mother of Christ. When Abbe Suger built St. Denis, blue began to rival red for supremacy within the church, although blue never became a vestment color. When St. Louis built his Chapel and the Capet family became the rulers of France with Mary as their patron, the fleur de lis on a blue background became the family standard and the flag of France (fleur de lis = lily of Mary, although it may be a blue flag or iris).

No sooner had blue become THE color of colors, than the Protestants (Pastoureau calls them "Chromoclasts") demanded everything be turned black to reflect sin and penance. After they smashed a few thousand church windows, these reformers, who have been linked to capitalism, turned everything else black -- from telephones to automobiles. As Henry Ford once said, the customer can have any color he wants as long as it's black. Black went on to became the dress of high society--from stove pipe hats to tuxedoes to the little black dress.

During the Reformation, red and white had been dismissed by the Protestants but the shot heard round the world gave them a second chance as the new red-white-blue and blue-white-red flags led to military pants and coats in similar colors. But red and white were a dismal failure as they made targets of their wearers. Blue blends into the horizon so it has lasted longer as a battle garment. Although jungle fatigues and black commando suits are more often than not seen on modern battlefields, mess dress is still blue-white-red for many, and UN soldiers wear fleur-de-lis blue helmets. Blue eventually replaced black on the social front as descendents of the "Puritans" gave up black frocks for navy blue blazers and jeans.

Pastoureau covers iconography, iconology, symbolism, sociology, ethnology, the economic aspects of weaving, dyeing, and manufacture, and a host of other topics associated with the color blue. The book is incredibly rich in detail but far too short, and in the end it raises more questions than it addresses. Pastoureau points to many historical sources that have yet to be translated or fully examined, and art history majors looking for a thesis subject would be well advised to check out this book.